Category: General News

DENMARK may soon enter the small bar era, with the town’s first one planned for its main street not far from two existing liquor dispensaries.

At a Denmark council meeting on Tuesday night, shire planner Annette Harbron said the venue, at 89 Strickland Street, would be a café by day, and small-cum- tapas bar by night.

“The applicant has confirmed he will apply for a small bar licence,” she added.

Ms Harbron said that despite marketing itself as a wine bar, the existing Stomp’d venue at 27 Strickland Street was not a small bar as it operated under a restaurant licence.

She said the only other existing establishment in town to resemble a small bar, Freehand Wines at 69 Strickland Street, operated on a satellite cellar door licence linked to a producer’s licence at a nearby winery.

Despite not being “all that excited” by the bar’s built form, Cr Kingsley Gibson said he looked forward to its eventual development.

“I think, in general terms, something like this is a really exciting and positive thing for the town,” he said.

Cr Ian Osborne said the shire had “no part to play” as an “arbiter of taste”, and that the architect, from Hillarys-based firm MJBA, was “very experienced”.

A document tabled by MJBA said the bar would “provide a bit of life, albeit low key, at the southern end of Strickland Street”, which is “rather quiet”.

“It is intended to be a social venue for local people to congregate, socialise and promote local culture,” the architects continued.

If eventually approved by the shire and Western Australia’s liquor licensing director, the bar will be part of a broader commercial and residential project.

The shire councillors unanimously agreed that the bar be advertised for public comment for a minimum 21 days.

AS THE Mount Barker community garden bites the dust, another in Denmark is set to spring forth.

The Weekender recently revealed that Plantagenet shire would direct operators of the community garden on Albany Highway in Mt Barker to return it to its original state after it had, quite literally, gone to seed.

Now, Denmark councillors have agreed that another garden, to be operated by the shire’s Community Resource Centre, be advertised for public comment.

If eventually approved, the 800sqm garden planned for the rear of the historic Morgan Richards Community Centre on Strickland Street will provide fruit, veggies and fungus for its members, who will be drawn from the Denmark community at large.

Like the existing Mt Barker gar- den, the area of the planned Den- mark one is currently unkempt.

At a council meeting on Tuesday night, Denmark shire planner Annette Harbron said the garden idea had been “on the books for many a year”.

“But the difficulty has been to find a partner to take it on,” she said.

Cr Mark Allen said the garden would suit Denmark’s ageing population, but that the CRC and shire would need to ensure ad- equate physical access to the site.

“I just think this is a great community initiative,” he said, before councillors unanimously agreed to put the garden idea out for a minimum 30 days of public consultation.

ALBANY residents face the spectre of a $350 fine if they toss recyclable waste into their general waste or organic waste bins.

Under a draft local law set to be considered by a City of Albany committee last night, ratepayers could also be fined $350 if they place general waste in a recycling or organic waste bin, or organic waste in a general or recycling bin.

In a report drafted by the city’s manager for governance and risk, Stuart Jamieson, recyclable waste is defined as paper, cardboard, plastic, glass, steel and aluminium containers, liquid paper board and any other waste determined by the city to be recyclable.

On November 22, the Department of Water and Environmental Regulation consented to the draft law.

Mr Jamieson has advised the committee that the law will need to go back to the department’s CEO for consideration if city councillors make even minor changes.

If major changes are requested by the councillors, city officials will need to start the legislative drafting process over again.

Mr Jamieson foresees the city may favour education over “other enforcement options” when administering the law, but only if it is in the public interest and if education is likely to achieve compliance. He advises that factors to be considered when deciding what is in the public interest will vary from case to case.

He notes that “negative community feedback” could be a major consequence for the city if it fails to communicate and justify the new law adequately to residents.

The local law is based on a model prepared by the department and the WA Local Government Association.

If endorsed by the committee, the draft law will advance for approval of the full city council which next meets on Monday.

ON THE heels of last Saturday’s launch of Albany Roller Derby’s new track, The Weekender can reveal the league has sought a licence to serve alcohol at its Gledhow HQ.

Kendell Smith, who on January 25 submitted the licence application to the Department of Racing, Gaming and Liquor, said the planned bar would open on “limited days” to cater for quiz nights, roller hockey and events such as birthday parties.

“It would work much like a football club or a bowls club,” she said.

“Those people that are coming would need to be a member or their guests would need to sign a book like members and guests of those clubs would.”

Ms Smith, who works in Albany’s hospitality industry, stressed that alcohol would be served in a designated area away from the track, and nobody would be allowed to drink while skating.

Roller discos, ultimate frisbee contests, basketball, and rock-climbing are on the cards for the new venue.

“If the bar could benefit them and we saw no risks involved with combining the bar and those sports then we’d be keen to do so,” she said.

The league’s new track is in a light industrial area on Roundhay Street.

“We did a letter drop around the area this morning,” Ms Smith said of the league’s efforts to inform locals of the planned bar.

“There’s not a lot out there, a few businesses, the wreckers, Grande Food, and a couple of houses in our radius.

“Everyone was so positive.”

She said club membership was open to anyone, and the bar would help to broaden Albany’s mix of social opportunities.

“Hopefully we’ll sign up some new members who would like to have a drink and play a bit of sport,” she said.

“I’m not a skater myself.

“Most people skate, but if you don’t want to that’s fine.”

Attached to the league’s licence application is an alcohol management policy and league code of conduct.

The league has already received a Section 40 approval from the City of Albany, which is usually the first bureaucratic hurdle to be cleared before obtaining a licence from the state department.

The licence application says the bar’s target clientele will be aged 18 to 65.

“We provide a positive recrea- tional space for the community of Albany, with occasional games including the potential to bring tourists to watch,” the applica- tion says.

“The addition of a licence will help to build the social aspect of the sporting league.”

HOUSES across urban Albany have leapt in value by 7.2 per cent, faster than in Bunbury, Esperance or metropolitan Perth.

Real Estate Institute of Western Australia figures for the December quarter show the median house price for Albany’s urban area is now $392,000.

That makes Albany more expensive than Greater Bunbury with a median of $365,000, Mandurah/Murray ($380,000), and urban Esperance ($340,000).

Albany’s 7.2 per cent increase in the three months to December 31 outpaced Greater Bunbury’s 2.8 per cent, urban Esperance’s 6.3 per cent, Mandurah/Murray’s 2.8 per cent and metropolitan Perth’s 1.2 per cent.

REIWA President Hayden Groves said Albany was one of eight regional centres across the state where median house prices rose.

He said 74 houses were sold in urban Albany in the December quarter, compared to 85 in the September quarter.

“That’s about 13 per cent fewer sales in the December quarter, but a 7.2 per cent increase in its median house price,” he explained.

“Interestingly, in the $150,000 to $360,000 bracket there were 39 sales in the September quarter versus only 25 sales in the December quarter.

“And if you go up a tier from $360,000 to the $500,000 bracket there were 31 sales in the September quarter but 34 in the December quarter.

“So that shift in the composition of more expensive property being acquired in the December quarter is what’s made the median price rise.”

Residential/lifestyle sales manager with Elders Albany Blair Scott agreed the higher end of the local market had seen most action.

“Certainly what we’re seeing is more movement in the 6, 7, 8 hundred thousand and a million bucks area,” he said.

“You only need to sell a couple in there and it will change the median price.”

Mr Scott said that at the depths of the housing slump it was difficult to sell any high-end houses.

“The prices at that top end gradually came back,” he said.

“And finally, when you get to a point where the buyers actually think there’s value, and you have buyers with that amount of money then that’s when they will start transacting.

“I think until recently that top end continued to come back a bit, and all of a sudden it’s off.”

Despite the increased median, it took an average of 89 days to sell a house in Albany over the December quarter, four days longer than in the three months to September 30. This compared favourably to 91 days across the whole of regional WA, where 1191 houses were sold.

The REIWA figures were for detached dwellings only, not units or townhouses.

LUXURY residential apartments will probably be needed to make a 12-floor hotel proposed by the State Government viable at Middleton Beach, Minister for Lands Rita Saffioti has conceded.

“There’s a mixed-use option in particular to get the business case up,” she told The Weekender last week at Albany’s best-known beach.

“The reality of financing hotels is that in many cases you need a residential component.

“Sometimes you actually need that combination to make the finances stack up.”

She said Landcorp would seek expressions of interest from hotel operators to get one to run a hotel overlooking the beach.

“What we’ve seen in the past is some difficulties getting developers in, Australia-wide, so what we’re doing on advice from CBRE hotel group is actually go out to hotel operators and see if we can get interest in an operator to come down and be the preferred operator, who will then work with the developer to get the project up,” she explained.

“So this is a new way with the aim of getting the attraction and actually securing the operator first, and then getting financing and a development up.”

Ms Saffioti said an announcement on results of the expression of interest process would be likely about May this year.

“The advice is, there may be some interest by some big [hotel company] names, but we’re very keen to test the market and see what we can do,” she stressed.

She said Landcorp would not specify a star-rating for the mooted hotel.

ALBANY people living with autism will be among the first to trial a new level of support and security provided by a simple identification card.

The Autism Alert Card initiative was instigated by Great Southern Police District Superintendent Dominic Wood in collaboration with local disability services, and is designed to aid emergency responders to identify people on the autism spectrum, in order to adapt their approach to people with autism in an emergency situation.

Supt Wood said when people with autism are in a stressful situation, their behaviour, which can include eye contact avoidance and anxious behaviour, may suggest to emergency responders that the person is potentially threatening.

The alert card will prompt responders to the person’s condition and allow them to tailor their approach.

As a parent to a child with autism, Supt Wood said he was extremely proud to officially launch the initiative, which is the first of its kind for WA Police.

He said the card was “two-fold” in its purpose, providing security for the alert card holder, as well as giving crucial aid to first responders in a situation which includes a person with autism.

Twenty-one-year-old Darrian Graham is on the autism spectrum and said the alert card was a great idea, as he says not everyone understands autism.

However, for Darrian’s mother Di, it’s about the reassurance the alert card can provide her when her son goes out on his own.

“Darrian’s a young adult now, so he wants to go out more on his own and with his friends,” she said.

“This card can offer me reassurance that he can be out in the community and people will put his safety first.

“It’s empowering for both the child and parents, because there’s such a gap of understanding in the community about autism.”

To obtain an autism alert card, you can contact the Autism Support Network of Albany on 0408 914 324 or visit the Great Southern Police District office on Stirling Terrace.

MIDDLETON BEACH bathers may not be as safe as they think over the next month as a one-metre gap opens up in the Ellen Cove shark barrier.

City of Albany Executive Director Infrastructure and Environment Matthew Thomson said the shark barrier would be lowered by about a metre to allow a barge to move in and out of Ellen Cove while work was carried out on the Ellen Cove jetty.

“The sign at Middleton Beach warns swimmers that the enclosure net is open from February 19 to March 23 to facilitate the jetty works,” Mr Thomson asserted.

Inspection of the sign confirms that’s not strictly the case.

Under the heading “Swimming Enclosure Information”, the sign warns that no water activities will be allowed within 10m of the jetty while it is closed for re- pairs.

While there is a small ‘NET OPENING’ annotation on a diagram that illustrates the exclusion zone around the jetty, nowhere does the sign explain there will be a month-long, one-metre gap in the shark barrier.

At the beach on Tuesday, The Weekender collared Albany postal workers Andrew Walsh and Fred Norzel after their weekly swim inside the shark barrier.

Before their swim, neither of the men had noticed the sign.

Nor did they know of the impending hole in the shark net.

“I think I’ll continue on swimming,” Mr Norzel said when advised of the gap.

“We used to swim before when there was no net, so it doesn’t really matter now.”

Mr Walsh said he intended to keep joining Mr Norzel on the pair’s weekly swim.

“You do feel safer with the net, I must admit,” he said.

Both men said advice to the public on the planned net opening could be better.

They agreed the net raised public expectations of safety within the enclosure that may not necessarily be delivered between February 19 and March 23.

Mr Thomson said the jetty was being reconstructed because the timbers had reached the end of their useable life.

“Replacement will be like-for-like, and existing piles will remain in place to support the new structure,” he explained.

“During the work period, there will be no access to the jetty and a 10m exclusion zone will apply around the jetty.

“Swimmers are permitted to use the remaining area of the enclosure but should be aware the net is open.”